Running with a purpose

Wednesday

Nov 27, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2013 at 5:52 AM

A more mature and focused Carlos Hyde seemingly can't be stopped after off-the-field trouble nearly brought down his career. He crossed the 1,000-yard threshold last week against Indiana and has 1,064 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, averaging 7.7 yards a carry.

Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

One run against Illinois embodies Carlos Hyde's season.

No, not the 51-yard touchdown run, nor the 55-yard touchdown run that was the capper to his 246-yard performance.

The run that stands out to Stan Drayton was a mere 3-yarder. If you want to understand Carlos Hyde - how good he has been this season and why - one particular carry in the third quarter holds the key.

Ohio State had the ball at Illinois' 4-yard line, leading by 16. Hyde took the handoff and was just past the line of scrimmage when linebacker Ralph Cooper hit him. Like Hyde, Cooper weighs 230 pounds. Cooper got immediate reinforcement when 210-pound safety Earnest Thomas III filled the hole and also hit Hyde.

That's 440 pounds against 230. The laws of physics dictate that Hyde should have lost in that situation, especially considering that Cooper grabbed Hyde's facemask.

But somehow, Hyde kept churning his legs, refusing to be stopped, and propelled himself into the end zone. Although a replay review determined that his elbow touched just before the goal line, nullifying the touchdown, it didn't diminish the effort.

"To me, that's one of his better runs, if not the best run, he has had all year," said Drayton, Ohio State's running backs coach, as the Buckeyes prepared for today's game at Michigan. "It's not the 55-yard run when the offensive line did a phenomenal job and he had to make one guy miss.

"No, it was two unblocked defenders in the hole who met him at the line of scrimmage. We're at the 4-yard line, and all you saw was this powerful slow push toward the goal line.

"I think that's very symbolic of his mindset as he approaches every game and every time that ball is placed in his hands. He is relentless not to be denied and not leave any regret on the field at any time."

It's not hard to place the source of that determination: No one feasts like a man who has faced starvation.

"Sometimes it takes a situation where everything is almost taken from you to take care and focus on what's important on and off the field," OSU coach Urban Meyer said. "He has been real good."

Hyde emerged as a consistently powerful running back last year. He gained 970 yards and would have been the first 1,000-yard rusher on a Meyer-coached team if he hadn't missed almost three games because of a knee sprain.

But this summer, after a brief altercation with a 19-year-old woman at a Columbus bar, it looked as though Hyde might not have a senior season.

"Very close," Drayton said when asked how close Hyde was to being kicked off the team.

Then the video of the incident was released, showing that the woman slapped at Hyde first and then he swatted at her in retaliation. That provided mitigating evidence, but it still was clearly unacceptable behavior and a violation of Meyer's "core values" that include respecting women.

The same day that Columbus police announced that charges would not be filed against Hyde, Meyer suspended him for the first three games.

To Drayton, that would be a huge test. Hyde had matured substantially in 2012 but still had much more to do.

"Two years ago, he was a very selfish kid, was not a hard worker, did not go about his business the right way all the time," Drayton said. "That is immaturity. Each year, he has taken steps in the right direction to improve that.

"Did he improve from two years ago to last year? Absolutely. Has he improved from last year to this year? Without a doubt. Do I believe the things he had to go through in regards to the decision he made off the field last summer has a major effect on him continuing to grow? Absolutely. This forced him to grow, and he responded."

Meyer required that Hyde perform community service, and during practice he was relegated to scout-team duty. But he didn't sulk. He did the best he could to simulate the looks the starting defense would see during those first three games.

When he was reinstated, he felt unleashed. One of his goals was to reach 1,000 yards.

"That's exactly how I play right now. In my mind, I have to make up time."

Hyde is determined to make the most of each opportunity, no matter when. Center Corey Linsley spoke of a recent Sunday practice after a bye. It was a no-pads practice and players wore shorts.

"I'm blocking this linebacker and I'm just trying to fit him up," Linsley said. "(Hyde) comes through and just smacks my back. I'm like, 'What?!' I look behind me like, 'Who the hell just hit me?' I went up to him and said, 'Dude, you're going pretty fast.' He goes, 'Yeah, man. I've got to run. They see us running on film.'

"I went back to the huddle thinking, 'Man, if that guy runs into me like that on a no-pads day, what's it got to feel like for a defender?' I see guys bounce off him sometimes on film and him breaking all those tackles, and it doesn't surprise me."

Anyone can run through a gaping hole, which the offensive line often has provided this year. The true test is what a running back does when there is no hole. Hyde routinely gets 4 or 5 yards when he is hit at the line of scrimmage.

Only once in 138 carries has Hyde been tackled for a loss, for minus-2 yards. He crossed the 1,000-yard threshold last week against Indiana and has 1,064 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, averaging 7.7 yards a carry.

"Carlos is playing ridiculously well," said Drayton, not one to dispense unbridled praise. "He's playing with a purpose. His purpose is to leave a mark on this team to where he can say, 'Hey, I was a part of this in a major way.'"

Drayton said that Hyde has become a different person - spiritually stronger, humble and quick to acknowledge the help of his teammates.

"I think the most special thing is how we play together," Hyde said of the reason for the Buckeyes' undefeated season. "It's not just one person. We all are together. It's really like a brotherhood here and it shows."

Hyde almost wasn't part of that brotherhood. That is why he cherishes it so much.

"It's very rewarding as a coach to see a young man make a decision to change, not knowing what's going to happen with the change but having the awareness that change needs to take place," Drayton said. "Then to see the reward that comes with it reinforces what this program is all about."

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

@brdispatch

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